monroe town hall collective bargaining agreement

7/21/2019 Monroe Town Hall Collective Bargaining Agreement

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COLLECTIVEBARGAINING

AGREEMENTby and between the

TOWN OF MONROEand

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 445Town Hall Bargaining Unit

January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2019



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1 PREAMBLE 1________________________________________________________

1.1 Notice of Agreement 1___________________________________________________

2 MANAGEMENT RIGHTS 1_____________________________________________

2.1 Policy and Governance 1________________________________________________

2.2 Filling of Vacancies 1____________________________________________________3 UNION RIGHTS 1_____________________________________________________

3.1 Recognition 1_________________________________________________________

3.2 Definition of Bargaining Unit 2_____________________________________________

3.3 Union Dues / Agency Fee 3_______________________________________________

3.4 Leave for Contract Administration 3________________________________________

3.5 Leave for Negotiations 3_________________________________________________

3.6 Bulletin Boards 3_______________________________________________________

3.7 Access to Town Premises 3______________________________________________

4 EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 4________________________________________________4.1 Probationary Periods 4__________________________________________________

4.2 Layoff and Recall 4_____________________________________________________

5 HOURS OF WORK 4__________________________________________________

5.1 Work Schedule 4_______________________________________________________

5.2 Additional Hours of Work 4_______________________________________________

5.3 Meal & Rest Breaks 5___________________________________________________

6 COMPENSATION 5___________________________________________________

6.1 Wages 5_____________________________________________________________

6.2 Premium Pay for Overtime 5______________________________________________

7 PAID LEAVE 6_______________________________________________________

7.1 Holidays 6____________________________________________________________

7.2 Vacation Leave 6_______________________________________________________

7.3 Sick Leave 8__________________________________________________________

7.4 Personal Leave 9______________________________________________________

7.5 Bereavement Leave 9___________________________________________________

7.6 Jury Duty Leave 10_____________________________________________________

8 MEDICAL-DENTAL 10_________________________________________________

8.1 Medical Insurance 10___________________________________________________

8.2 Dental Plan 11_________________________________________________________

8.3 Optical Plan 11________________________________________________________

9 DISABLED EMPLOYEES 11____________________________________________

9.1 Workers’ Compensation Insurance 11_______________________________________

9.2 Short-Term Disability Insurance 12_________________________________________



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9.3 Long-Term Disability Insurance 13_________________________________________

10 GENERAL PROVISIONS 13____________________________________________

10.1 Longevity Incentive 13___________________________________________________

10.2 Life Insurance 13_______________________________________________________

11 DUE PROCESS PROCEDURES 14_______________________________________11.1 Grievance Procedure 14_________________________________________________

11.2 Disciplinary Procedure 15________________________________________________

12 APPLICATION OF AGREEMENT 15______________________________________

12.1 Duration of Agreement 15________________________________________________

12.2 Complete Agreement 15_________________________________________________

12.3 Savings Clause 15_____________________________________________________

12.4 Legislative Action 15____________________________________________________

12.5 Execution of Agreement 16_______________________________________________



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1 PREAMBLE

1.1 Notice of Agreement

1.1.1 Parties to Agreement: This Collective Bar,gaining Agreement is made by and between the Town

of Monroe, hereinafter referred to as the “Town” and Teamsters Local 445, hereinafter referred to as the“Union.”

2 MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

2.1 Policy and Governance

2.1.1 Management Rights Clause: The rights and responsibilities to operate and manage the businessand affairs of the Town are vested exclusively in the Town and the Town not exercising any of these rightsshall not be construed as a waiver of them.

These rights and responsibilities include, by way of illustration and without being limited by past practice or

otherwise the right to: hire, assign, promote, transfer, layoff, furlough, evaluate, and discipline and terminateemployees for just cause; select, test, train and determine the ability and qualifications of employees;determine, control and change work practices and schedules, work and shift assignments, hours of work,the size, composition and organization of the workforce, and job classifications, descriptions, content andstandards; implement and comply with regulations and requirements issued by any government agency;make, modify and enforce reasonable rules of employee conduct and safety; determine, control and changethe quality and nature of products, materials and services; introduce new or improved methods, equipment,techniques and processes; contract and subcontract for services; and all other rights pertaining to theoperation and management of the business and affairs of the Town unless expressly provided otherwise inthis Collective Bargaining Agreement.

2.2 Filling of Vacancies

2.2.1 Selection: The Town will be the sole judge with respect to the degree to which applicants meet job qualifications. The selection of internal and/or external applicants to fill positions will be at the solediscretion of the Town and shall not be subject to the Grievance Procedure.

3 UNION RIGHTS

3.1 Recognition

3.1.1 Recognition: The Town recognizes the Union as the exclusive collective-bargainingrepresentative for employees identified in 3.2.1, below, with respect to terms and conditions ofemployment and the administration of grievances as defined in 11.1.1, below.

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3.2 Definition of Bargaining Unit

3.2.1 Included: Included in the bargaining unit are all full-time and part-time employees (working 16 ormore hours per week) in the following titles:

Office of the Town Supervisor: Clerk to Supervisor, Bookkeeper to Supervisor, Bookkeeper

Code Enforcement: Code Enforcement Officer, Assistant Building Inspector

Planning & Zoning: Secretary to Planning Board / Zoning Board of Appeals

Justice Court: Clerk to Town Justice, Court Clerk, Assistant Court Clerk, Court Attendant

Assessor’s Office: Assistant Assessor, Assessor’s Clerk, Real Property Data Collector

Recreation: Recreation Coordinator, Recreation Leader, Recreational Attendant, Recreation Aide

Maintenance: Building Maintenance Supervisor, Building Maintenance Mechanic

Security: Security Guard, Watch-Guard, Dog Control Officer

Clerical: Senior Clerk, Clerk, Senior Typist, Typist, Data Entry Operator

3.2.2 Excluded: Excluded from the bargaining unit are: Assessor, Building Inspector, Secretary to theTown Supervisor, Deputy Town Clerk, Recreation Director, temporary employees, seasonal employees, allemployees under the age of 18, and volunteers.

3.2.3 Full-time Employee: For the purpose of this Collective Bargaining Agreement, a “full-timeemployee” will mean an employee who is regularly scheduled to work thirty-five hours per weekthroughout the year.

3.2.4 Part-time Employee: For the purpose of this Collective Bargaining Agreement, a “part-timeemployee” will mean an employee who is regularly scheduled to work a minimum of sixteen hours perweek throughout the year. It is understood that the Town will not regularly schedule part-time employeesto work between 30 and 40 hours per week.

3.2.5 Temporary Employee: For the purpose of this Collective Bargaining Agreement, a “temporaryemployee” will mean an employee who is employed on an interim or sporadic basis, or who is employedto work on a special, emergency, or on-call basis for a specified period, consistent with the the rules andregulations of the Orange County Civil Service as applicable.

3.2.6 Unit Clarification: Any disputes as to whether a new or substantially altered job title isencompassed within the scope of the existing bargaining unit shall be submitted immediately to the Stateof New York Public Employment Relations Board in accordance with its rules and procedures.

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3.3 Union Dues / Agency Fee

3.3.1 Union Dues: An employee who chooses to become a member of the Union must sign anauthorization card for dues deduction and submit it to the Union. Thereafter, the Union is to forward theauthorization to the Town. The Town will deduct the dues, initiation fees, and/or assessments from thepay of such employee at the close of each pay period and send the total amount to the Union on a monthly

basis. The Union shall notify the Town of the amount to be deducted.

3.3.2 Agency Fees: An employee who does not become a member of the Union by signing amembership card and an authorization card for dues deduction within thirty calendar days of theexecution of this Collective Bargaining Agreement or initial employment, as the case may be, or anemployee who does not remain a member of the Union in good standing, shall be required to pay aservice fee (agency shop fee) in an amount equivalent to the membership dues levied by the Union. TheTown will deduct the service fee from the pay of such employee at the close of each pay period and remitsaid sums to the Union on a monthly basis.

3.4 Leave for Contract Administration

3.4.1 Investigation and Presentation of Grievances: The bargaining unit president will be allowedrelease time, without loss of pay or leave credits, for the following activities: to present grievances tomanagement; to attend grievance arbitration hearings; and, to attend conferences and hearings of theNew York State Public Employment Relations Board.

3.4.2 Release for Steward Training: Each calendar year, one steward designated by Teamsters Local445 will be allowed one day, without loss of pay or leave credits, to attend the annual steward trainingsponsored by the Union.

3.4.3 Requests for Release Time: Requests for the use of release time shall be made to theappropriate supervisor as far in advance as possible. An employee requesting such leave shall not leavethe employee’s duty station until it has been approved.

3.5 Leave for Negotiations

3.5.1 Eligible Employees: At any one time, no more than two employees designated by TeamstersLocal 445 will receive release time, without loss of pay or leave credits, for the sole purpose of attendingnegotiation meetings scheduled by the Town.

3.6 Bulletin Boards

3.6.1. Location: The Union may have an exclusive bulletin board at the appropriate locations to postnotices or other communications.

3.7 Access to Town Premises

3.7.1 Union Representatives: Representatives of Teamsters Local 445 will be allowed access to theTown’s premises for the purpose of conducting legitimate Union business related to the administration ofthis Collective Bargaining Agreement, or to investigate safety and health matters, provided it does notinterfere with normal operations. The representative shall give prior notice of the visit to the appropriatesupervisor,

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4 EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

4.1 Probationary Periods

4.1.1 Length of Probationary Period: The probationary period for an employee will be in accordance

with the rules and regulations of the Orange County Civil Service, except as otherwise noted in thisCollective Bargaining Agreement.

4.2 Layoff and Recall

4.2.1 Procedures: All layoffs and recalls will be in accordance with the rules and regulations of theOrange County civil service agency, except as otherwise noted below.

4.2.2 First to be Laid Off: In the event of a reduction in the number of positions in a job title in the non-competitive or labor class within a given department, the employee within that job title with the leastbargaining-unit seniority will be the first to be laid off.

4.2.3 Recall: In the event there is a vacancy within twelve months following the layoff in the job title inthe non-competitive or labor class where a layoff occurred, the laid-off employee who was within theaffected job title in the department with the most service seniority will be offered the position, provided theemployee is qualified. It shall be the responsibility of the laid-off employee to provide his or her homeaddress to the appropriate supervisor. Notification of recall shall be by registered mail, return receiptrequested.

5 HOURS OF WORK

5.1 Work Schedule

5.1.1 Workday/Workweek: The appropriate supervisor will establish an employee’s scheduled daysand hours of work, which may differ from the normal hours of operation depending upon the particularneeds and requirements of the Town. The Town Board reserves the right to approve all employee workschedules.

5.1.2 Time Records: An employee must record all hours worked in each workday in a manner to bedetermined by the Town.

5.2 Additional Hours of Work

5.2.1 Requirement: The Town may require an employee to work additional hours beyond theemployee’s normal workday and workweek. An employee must receive prior approval from theappropriate supervisor before working additional hours. An employee who, after investigation, is found tohave refused to work additional hours as directed will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

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5.2.2 Hours Not Extending from Normal Workday: In the event there is an opportunity in a given jobtitle to work additional hours and such hours are NOT a continuation of “work in progress”, the opportunitywill first be offered to the full-time employee in that job title with the least number of overtime hours. Anemployee who refuses the opportunity, or is not available, will be charged as if the employee had workedthe assignment. In the event a sufficient number of employees do not volunteer, the work will be assignedto the full-time employee in that job title with the least number of overtime hours.

5.2.3 Errors in Assigning Overtime: In the event the Town makes an error in the assignment ofadditional hours, the next opportunity to work additional hours will be offered to the employee who shouldhave been offered the additional hours.

5.3 Meal & Rest Breaks

5.3.1 Meal Breaks: An employee who works more than six hours in a given day will receive an unpaid,work-free meal break not less than thirty minutes.

5.3.2 Approval of Meal Breaks: Meal breaks must be approved by the appropriate supervisor inaccordance with the needs and requirements of the department. Meal breaks must normally be taken inthe middle of the employee’s workday. Unless otherwise directed by the appropriate supervisor, anemployee may leave the work-site during the meal break.

5.3.3 Rest Periods: An employee will normally receive a paid, work-free rest break of up to fifteenminutes to be taken approximately in the middle of the first half of the employee’s workday. An employeemay take brief “personal hygiene” breaks during the second half of the employee’s workday.

5.3.4 Approval of Rest Breaks: Rest breaks must be approved by the appropriate supervisor inaccordance with the needs and requirements of the Town. Breaks must be staggered so as not to disruptnormal operations. Unless otherwise specified by departmental rules, all rest breaks must be taken at thework-site and may not exceed the time allowed.

5.3.5 Meal Allowance: Any full-time or part-time employee working 12 or more hours within a work day

shall be entitled to a maximum of a $15 meal allowance reimbursement, upon submission of a receipt.

6 COMPENSATION

6.1 Wages

6.1.1 Wage Increases: Effective January 1, 2016, all employees shall receive a 2 percent increase.Effective January 1, 2017, all employees shall receive a 3.5 percent increase. Effective January 1, 2018, allemployees shall receive a 3 percent increase. Effective January 1, 2019, all employees shall receive a 3percent increase.

6.2 Premium Pay for Overtime

6.2.1 Overtime Rate: An employee will be paid one and one-half times the employee’s regular hourlyrate of pay for all authorized time worked over the department’s regular work schedule.

6.2.2 Credit for Paid Leave: Holidays, vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, bereavement leave,and jury duty leave will be included as time worked in the computation of overtime.

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7 PAID LEAVE

7.1 Holidays

7.1.1 Designated Holidays for Full-Time Employees

7.1.2 Holiday Pay: A full-time employee who does not work on a designated holiday will be paid forthe day at the employee’s regular daily rate of pay.

7.1.3 Assigned to Work on a Holiday: A full-time employee who is required to work on a designatedholiday will receive holiday pay plus wages at the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked. Apart-time employee who works on a designated holiday will be paid at the rate of time-and-a-half for allhours worked for the following six holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day,Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas.

7.1.4 Holiday Pay Eligibility: An employee must work the employee’s scheduled workday before and the employee’s scheduled workday after a designated holiday in order to receive holiday pay, unlessotherwise excused by the appropriate supervisor.

7.2 Vacation Leave

7.2.1 Eligibility: A full-time employee is eligible for paid vacation leave in accordance with this policy.A part-time employee is not eligible for paid vacation leave but may be allowed to take time-off withoutpay provided the employee has prior approval from the appropriate supervisor.

7.2.2 Allowance: A full-time employee will be credited with paid vacation leave in accordance with thevacation schedule below. Vacation Leave is based on the average number of hours an employee isnormally scheduled to work each week. An employee may take vacation leave only after it has beencredited.

A. Vacation leave will be earned for an employee’s first year of service as follows:

Five vacation days will be credited upon the employee’s six month anniversary date.

Five vacation days will be credited upon the employee’s one year anniversary date.

B. Upon completing one year of service, vacation leave will be credited in advance as follows: On anemployee’s one year anniversary date, ten days of prorated annual vacation leave, rounded to thenearest full day, will be credited based upon the number of full months remaining in the calendar year.

New Year’s Day Columbus Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Veterans Day

Presidents’ Day Thanksgiving Day

Memorial Day Day After Thanksgiving

Fourth of July Christmas

Labor Day Day at the choice of the employee

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Examples:

If one year anniversary is January 15, vacation leave credited will be 10 days times 11/12, which amountsto 9.17 days, which will be rounded to 9 days.

If one year anniversary is April 5, vacation leave credited will be 10 days times 8/12, which amounts to

6.67 days, which will be rounded to 7 days.

If one year anniversary is October 25, vacation leave credited will be 10 days times 2/12, which amountsto 1.67 days, which will be rounded to 2 days.

C. Thereafter, vacation leave will be credited in advance each January 1 as shown below. Vacation leaveis considered to be earned proportionally to the time worked throughout the year.

Continuous Service shall mean uninterrupted service. An authorized leave of absence without pay, or aresignation followed by reinstatement within one year following such resignation, shall not constitute aninterruption of continuous service. Vacation is earned only for monthly pay periods during which anemployee is in full pay status for at least fifteen working days during such monthly pay period.

7.2.3 Scheduling: An employee must request approval for vacation leave from the appropriatesupervisor at least a week in advance. An employee must receive prior approval from the appropriatesupervisor to take vacation leave. Vacation leave credits may not be used in increments of less than onehour. The appropriate supervisor will have total discretion in the approval of vacation leave.

7.2.4 Carry-Over: An employee may carry a maximum of five days of vacation leave over to the nextcalendar year upon approval from the appropriate supervisor and the Town Board. Requests to carry-over vacation leave must be submitted in writing to the appropriate supervisor and the Town Board.Copies of the request must be provided to the Bookkeeper and/or Confidential Secretary to TownSupervisor for filing in the requesting employee’s personnel file.

7.2.5 Holiday During Scheduled Vacation: In the event a designated holiday occurs on anemployee’s normal workday and the employee is on paid vacation, the employee will receive holiday payfor the day and the employee’s vacation leave credits will not be charged for that day.

7.2.6 Separation from Employment: An employee who resigns, retires or is laid off will receive a lumpsum payment for earned but unused vacation leave to which the employee is properly entitled at theemployee’s then current rate of pay. To be eligible to receive this payment, an employee who is to resignor retire must give written notice at least two weeks in advance of the last day of employment. In theevent an employee leaves employment due to disciplinary action, the employee will not receive asettlement for unused vacation leave. In cases of death of an employee, the Town will pay an employee’sdesignated beneficiary for any earned but unused vacation leave. If upon separation the amount ofvacation leave used exceeds the amount of vacation leave earned (calculated on a prorated basis), theemployee hereby authorizes the Town to equalize the last paycheck to take into account the excess leavetaken.

CONTINUOUS SERVICE COMPLETED VACATION LEAVE CREDITED

Less than 5 years 10 days

At least 5 years, but less than 10 years 15 days

At least 10 years, but less than 20 years 20 days

20 or more years 25 days

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7.3 Sick Leave

7.3.1 Allowance: A full-time employee will be credited with six days of paid sick leave each year. Anemployee may take sick leave only after it has been credited. The employee will be credited on January1 of each year.

7.3.2 New Employee: A newly hired employee will not be credited with sick leave prior to completingsix months of continuous employment, at which time a full-time employee will be credited with three dayspaid sick leave. The employee will be credited with six days on January 1 following the six-monthanniversary date.

7.3.3 Part-Time Employees: After six months of continuous employment, a part-time employee iseligible for five hours of paid sick leave each calendar year but may be allowed to take time-off withoutpay provided the employee has prior approval from the appropriate supervisor. The employee will becredited on January 1 of each year. For part-time employees, a shift is to be considered five hours.

7.3.4 Accrual During Leaves of Absence: An employee will be credited with sick leave while on apaid leave of absence, but not while on an unpaid leave of absence.

7.3.5 Use of Sick Leave: Sick leave is provided to protect an employee against financial hardshipduring an illness or injury. Sick leave is an insurance benefit against financial loss, not a leave benefit towhich the employee is automatically entitled. An employee may use sick leave for personal illness orinjury that inhibits the employee’s work. Sick leave may not be used in increments of less than one hour.Employees must follow the notification procedures contained in the Town’s then current EmployeeHandbook in order to use sick leave.

7.3.6 Family Sick Leave: An employee may use sick leave for family illness or injury only if theemployee must provide direct care to an immediate family member. The employee may use up to fivedays of sick leave annually for family sick leave which will be subtracted from the employee’saccumulated sick leave credits. In the event the employee must be absent from work beyond acontinuous five days, the employee may apply for leave under the Family and Medical Leave policy in the

Town’s then current Employee Handbook. For purpose of family sick leave, “immediate family member”will mean the employee’s parent, spouse or child, including step-child and foster child.

7.3.7 Carry-Over: An employee may not carry-over sick leave from one calendar year to the next. Anyunused sick leave credits as of December 31 of each year will be cancelled.

7.3.8 Medical Verification: The Town may require medical verification of an employee’s absence if theTown perceives the employee is abusing sick leave, or has used an excess amount of sick leave, or whenan employee is absent for more than two consecutive workdays due to an il lness or injury.

7.3.9 Abuse of Sick Leave: An employee who, after investigation, is found to have abused the use ofsick leave or failed to provide medical verification as required will be subject to appropriate disciplinaryaction.

7.3.10 Separation from Employment: An employee who separates employment with the Town for anyreason (i.e. resigns, retires, laid-off, fired) will not receive cash payment for unused sick leave.

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7.4 Personal Leave

7.4.1 Allowance: All full-time and part-time employees will be credited with four shifts of paid personalleave each year. For part-time employees, a shift is considered to be five hours. An employee may takepersonal leave only after it has been credited. The employee will be credited on January 1 of each year.

7.4.2 New Employee: A new employee will be credited with a prorated amount of personal leave aftercompletion of six months of continuous service, based upon the amount of time remaining in the calendaryear. For example, if six months service is completed on April 1, 9 months remain in the year. Personalleave would be credited as 9/12 times 4 shifts, or 3 shifts. The amount of prorated personal leavecredited will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

7.4.3 Time Off Without Pay: An employee may be allowed to take time-off (pursuant to 7..4.4 below)without pay provided the employee has prior approval from the appropriate supervisor.

7.4.4 Use of Personal Leave: An employee may use personal leave to conduct personal businesswhich cannot be conducted outside of normal working hours, non-emergency medical and dentalappointments, and for personal emergencies. In no event may personal leave be used on the scheduledworkday immediately prior to or following a holiday or vacation; for social purposes; in lieu of sick leave orother leaves of absences, except to extend bereavement leave. Personal leave credits may not be usedin increments of less than one hour.

7.4.5 Scheduling – An employee must receive prior approval from the appropriate supervisor to takepersonal leave. The appropriate supervisor will have total discretion in the approval of personal leave.

7.4.6 Carry-Over: An employee may not carry-over personal leave from one calendar year to the next.Any unused personal leave credits as of December 31 of each year will be cancelled.

7.4.7 Separation from Employment: An employee who separates employment with the Town for anyreason (i.e. resigns, retires, laid-off, fired) will not receive cash payment for unused personal leave.

7.5 Bereavement Leave

7.5.1 Eligibility: In the event of a death of a full-time employee’s immediate family member, theemployee may take a paid leave for up to three consecutive days from the employee’s regularlyscheduled work, but not beyond the date of burial. Such leave will not be subtracted from any of theemployee’s leave credits. A part-time employee is eligible for one paid shift for bereavement leave andmay be allowed to take additional time-off without pay provided the employee has prior approval from theappropriate supervisor.

7.5.2 Definition of Immediate Family: For purpose of bereavement leave, “immediate family member”will mean the following: spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, and in-laws (limited to then currentmother/father-in-law, daughter/son-in-law of the employee).

7.5.3 Extended Bereavement Leave: With authorization from the appropriate supervisor, an employeemay use vacation leave credits and/or personal leave credits to extend a bereavement leave. Theappropriate supervisor will have total discretion in the approval of an employee’s extended bereavementleave, based upon the needs of the Town.

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7.6 Jury Duty Leave

7.6.1 Jury Leave: In the event a full-time or part-time employee is required to perform jury duty on aday the employee is scheduled to work, the employee will receive paid jury duty leave. Such leave willnot be subtracted from any of the employee’s leave credits. An employee is obligated to notify theCommissioner of Jurors that the Town is paying the employee’s full pay during jury duty. If the employeereceives a jury stipend from the courts, such amount must be reimbursed to the Town. An employee cancollect and keep any mileage or parking expense reimbursement that may be issued by the court systemfor performing jury duty.

7.6.2 Notification of Jury Duty: When an employee receives notice to report for jury duty, theemployee must immediately submit a copy of the notice to the appropriate supervisor.

7.6.3 Return to Duty: In the event the employee is released from jury duty on a given day and thereare two or more hours remaining in the employee’s scheduled workday, the employee must report towork. The employee will be allotted time to return home and prepare for work.

8 MEDICAL-DENTAL

8.1 Medical Insurance

8.1.1 Eligibility: The Town currently offers major medical, hospital, and surgical insurance coverage toeach full-time employee and their eligible family members. A part-time employee is not eligible formedical insurance coverage.

8.1.2 When Coverage Begins: Coverage for an employee will begin the first of the month following thecompletion of three full months of continuous employment, provided all eligibility requirements of the planare met.

8.1.3 When Coverage Ends: Coverage ends on the last day of the month in which the employee

separates from employment.

8.1.4 Premium Payment: The Town will pay 85% of the premium for individual or family coverage, asthe case may be, for each eligible full-time employee. The remaining 15% of the premium must be paidby the employee.

8.1.5 Pre-Tax Insurance Premiums: The employee's contribution towards the health insurancepremium can be paid with pre-tax dollars. Deductions are taken from the employee's paycheck beforefederal, state, and social security taxes are calculated. The proper authorization form must be completedeach year to in order to make this effective.

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8.2 Dental Plan

8.2.1 Eligibility: The Town will offer a dental plan to each full-time employee and part-time employeeand their eligible family members.

8.2.2 When Coverage Begins: Coverage for an employee will begin the first of the month following the

completion of three full months of continuous employment, provided all eligibility requirements of the planare met.

8.2.3 Premium Payment: The Town will continue its existing dental plan for full-time employees, at itsexisting level of reimbursement. Part-time employees shall be eligible for $1000 per year forreimbursement, upon presentation of receipts.

8.3 Optical Plan

8.3.1 Eligibility for Coverage: Each full-time employee and part-time employee is eligible toparticipate in the available optical plan, which provides for reimbursement as specified below forapproved optical care expenses.

8.3.2 When Coverage Begins: Coverage for an employee will begin the first of the month following thecompletion of three full months of continuous employment, provided all eligibility requirements of the planare met.

8.3.3 Amount of Reimbursement: Reimbursement for approved optical care expenses shall notexceed $400 per year for each employee including eligible family members. “Eligible family members”include the employee’s spouse and family members residing in the employee’s household who have notyet reached age 25. The reimbursement shall not exceed $400 per year per family. Requests forreimbursement should be submitted to the Confidential Secretary to Town Supervisor and must includeappropriate receipts for applicable charges.

9 DISABLED EMPLOYEES9.1 Workers’ Compensation Insurance

9.1.1 Use of Leave Credits: An employee may draw from the employee’s sick leave credits, thenpersonal leave credits, and then vacation leave credits in conjunction with Workers’ Compensationpayments to equal, but not exceed, the employee’s regular daily rate of pay. When the insurance companymakes payment, the Town shall be reimbursed for that portion of leave covered by insurance and theemployee will be re-credited with the proportional amount of leave.

9.1.2 Continuation of Medical Insurance: The Town will continue medical insurance coverage for aqualifying event in accordance with the provisions of the Town’s Family and Medical Leave Policy.Thereafter, an employee who is receiving Workers’ Compensation payments for lost time AND is drawingfull pay by using accrued leave credits will continue to receive medical insurance benefits and the Town willcontinue to make its contributions for up to a maximum of one year provided the employee makes therequired employee contribution.

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9.2 Short-Term Disability Insurance

9.2.1 Coverage: The Town currently offers short-term disability benefits to each full-time employee. Apart-time, temporary, or seasonal employee is not eligible for short-term disability benefits. This benefit isto supplement loss of time from work due to a qualified non-job related illness or injury.

9.2.2 When Coverage Begins: Coverage is available to an employee on the first of the monthfollowing the completion of three full months of continuous employment.

9.2.3 Qualification for Benefits: The employee must submit a Medical Certification to the ConfidentialSecretary to Town Supervisor. If the Medical Certification verifies the existence of a Serious Health

Condition (as defined in the Town’s Family and Medical Leave Policy) which renders the employeeincapable of working, the employee will be deemed to qualify for short-term disability benefits under thispolicy. Payment of benefits will commence on the eighth workday after the onset of the Serious HealthCondition.

9.2.4 Description of Benefits:

Short-term disability benefits under this policy are provided at no cost to the employee.

An employee must first use all available sick leave credits during the seven day waiting period. Theemployee may also choose to use vacation or personal leave during this waiting period. After the sevenday waiting period has expired, the employee shall receive 80% of the employee’s regular wages for aperiod not to exceed fifty-three cumulative working days for each distinct Serious Health Condition. Theemployee has the option of supplementing short-term disability payments with accumulated vacation orpersonal leave credits.

Approval for additional short-term disability benefits for any reoccurrence of a distinct Serious HealthCondition will be at the sole discretion of the Town Board.

Appropriate payroll deductions will continue to be made from the employee’s paycheck during the period

in which short-term disability benefits are in effect.

9.2.5 Medical Insurance Coverage: During the period of qualification for short-term disability benefitsan employee’s eligibility status for medical insurance coverage will not change. After short term disabilitybenefits are exhausted, coverage may continue under the provisions of COBRA.

9.2.6 Changes: The Town Board may, at its discretion, offer an alternative disability plan or make anychanges it deems appropriate, including discontinuance of this benefit.

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9.3 Long-Term Disability Insurance

9.3.1 Coverage: The Town will make available long-term disability benefits to each eligible full-timeemployee. This benefit is to supplement loss of time from work due to a qualified non-job related illnessor injury. Coverage will begin after the employee has exhausted all short-term disability benefits, providedthe employee meets all eligibility requirements.

9.3.2 When Coverage Begins: Coverage will begin upon the employee completing three months ofcontinuous active employment.

9.3.3 Plan: The Town may, at its discretion, change carriers and/or offer an alternative disability plan ormake any changes it deems appropriate, including discontinuance of this benefit. A description of theplan may be obtained from the Confidential Secretary to Town Supervisor.

9.3.4 Premium Payment: The Town will pay the full premium for disability coverage for each eligiblefull-time employee.

9.3.5 Medical Insurance Coverage: Medical insurance coverage for an employee drawing Long-TermDisability benefits will be in accordance with the provisions of the Town’s Family and Medical LeavePolicy.

10 GENERAL PROVISIONS

10.1 Longevity Incentive

10.1.1 Summary: An employee who completes twenty years of full-time or part-time continuousemployment with the Town will receive a one-time incentive payment of $1,000, payable in the lastpaycheck of the calendar year in which the employee’s twentieth anniversary occurs. There will be nocredit for part-time service for purposes of meeting the twenty year requirement.

10.2 Life Insurance

10.2.1 Eligibility: The Town will make available group term life insurance coverage to each full-time andpart-time employee. Coverage will begin the first of the month following the completion of three fullmonths of continuous employment, provided all eligibility requirements of the plan are met.

10.2.2 Premium Payment: The Town will pay the full cost of the life insurance premium for $25,000 ofcoverage. Optional coverage in excess of $25,000 is available, as well as dependent coverage options.An employee who chooses dependent coverage or coverage over and above the $25,000 paid for by theTown must pay the additional premium cost.

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11 DUE PROCESS PROCEDURES

11.1 Grievance Procedure

11.1.1 Definition: For the purposes of this Collective Bargaining Agreement, a grievance shall mean

and refer to a claimed violation, misinterpretation or inequitable application of the expressed provisions ofthis Collective Bargaining Agreement.

11.1.2 Step One – Formal Grievance: The Union may file a formal complaint on behalf of an aggrievedemployee(s). The grievance shall specify the nature of the grievance, including the section of theCollective Bargaining Agreement that was allegedly violated and a statement of facts, times, and dates.

The grievance must be submitted, in writing, to the Town Supervisor within thirty calendar days fromknowledge of the alleged grievance, or when the Union should have had knowledge.

Within seven calendar days after receiving the grievance, the Town Supervisor shall meet with thedesignated Union Steward and the aggrieved employee(s). Within seven calendar days after themeeting, the Town Supervisor shall issue a written response to the grievance, which shall be given to the

designated Union Steward and the employee(s).

11.1.3 Step Two – Appeal to Town Board: In the event the Union is not satisfied with the response tothe grievance at Step One, the Union may submit the matter to the Town Clerk. The appeal must besubmitted, in writing, within fourteen calendar days from receiving the Step One response, or when theStep One response should have been received.

Within fourteen calendar days after receiving the appeal, the Town Board shall meet with the designatedrepresentative of the Union and the aggrieved employee(s). Within seven calendar days after themeeting, the Town Board shall issue a written response to the grievance, which shall be given to thedesignated representative of the Union.

11.1.4 Step Three – Binding Arbitration: In the event the Union is not satisfied with the response to

the grievance at Step Two, the Union may submit the matter to arbitration. The demand for arbitrationmust be filed with the Town Supervisor within fourteen calendar days from receiving the Step Threeresponse, or when the Step Three response should have been received.

11.1.5 Selection of Arbitrator: Selection of the arbitrator shall be made from an established panel offive arbitrators. The panel of arbitrators shall be established by mutual agreement between the Employerand the Union and published in a memorandum of agreement. The Town Supervisor shall contact eachof the five arbitrators on the panel and select that arbitrator who is able to conduct the arbitration hearingat the earliest date.

11.1.6 Conduct of Arbitration: All decisions rendered by the arbitrator shall be final and binding uponall parties. The conduct of the arbitration shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction and control of thearbitrator, which shall conform to applicable law. No arbitrator functioning under these procedures shallhave any power to amend, modify or delete any provisions of this Collective Bargaining Agreement.

11.1.7 Costs of Arbitration: The Employer and the Union shall share the cost of the arbitrator equally.

11.1.8 Time Limits: The Union must adhere to the time limits set forth in this grievance procedure. In theevent the Union does not advance the grievance to the next step within the established time limit, thegrievance will be considered withdrawn and no further appeal will be accepted. The time limits may beextended by mutual agreement provided the extension is in writing, dated, and signed by the Union and theofficial who is to receive the grievance.

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11.2 Disciplinary Procedure

11.2.1 Civil Service Rules: Discipline shall be in accordance with the statutory provisions set forth inSection 75 and Section 76 of the New York State Civil Service Law, except that all non-competitive CivilService employees shall be eligible for Section 75 and Section 76 coverage after six calendar months ofcontinuous employment from the date of hire.

11.2.2 Notice of Discipline: The Town shall provide the employee with a written Notice of Discipline,which shall contain all charges and specifications and the penalty. Simultaneously, a copy of the noticeshall be sent to the designated representative of the Union.

11.2.3 Bookkeeper to Town Supervisor: Notwithstanding the above, it is understood that the positionof Bookkeeper to Supervisor is classified as an exempt position by the Orange County civil serviceagency and serves at the sole discretion of the Town Supervisor and, as such, the Union may notchallenge such appointment or termination of such appointment through any administrative or legalproceeding.

12 APPLICATION OF AGREEMENT

12.1 Duration of Agreement

12.1.1 This Collective Bargaining Agreement shall be effective from January 1, 2016 through December31, 2019, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

12.2 Complete Agreement

12.2.1 This Collective Bargaining Agreement will constitute the entire agreement between the parties.Any past practice that existed up until the date of the signing of this Collective Bargaining Agreement willnot be binding on the Town and may not be submitted to the grievance and arbitration procedure,however, the Town recognizes the right of the Union to file an improper practice charge against the Town

for a unilateral change in an established term or condition of employment.

12.3 Savings Clause

12.3.1 Should any of the provisions, portions or applications of this Collective Bargaining Agreement befound to be invalid by any tribunal of competent jurisdiction, then the provisions, portions or applicationsspecified in such decision shall be of no force and effect, but the remainder of this Collective BargainingAgreement shall continue to be in full force and effect.

12.3.2 Upon the issuance of such decision, the Town and the Union shall negotiate an adjustment in theaffected provisions, portions or applications with the intention of effecting the purpose of the provisions,portions or applications.

12.4 Legislative Action

IT IS AGREED BY AND BETWEEN THE PARTIES THAT ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENTREQUIRING LEGISLATIVE ACTION TO PERMIT ITS IMPLEMENTATION BY AMENDMENT OF LAW ORBY PROVIDING THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS THEREFORE, SHALL NOT BECOME EFFECTIVE UNTILTHE APPROPRIATE LEGISLATIVE BODY HAS GIVEN APPROVAL.

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12.5 Execution of Agreement

The parties have caused this Collective Bargaining Agreement to be signed by their respectiverepresentatives.

Town of Monroe Teamsters Local 445

_____________________________ _____________________________Harley E. Doles III Jerry EbertTown Supervisor Business Agent

_____________________________ _____________________________Date Date

_____________________________ _____________________________Gerard T. McQuade, Jr. Kathryn TroianoTown Board Member Bargaining Unit

_____________________________ _____________________________Date Date

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monroe town hall collective bargaining agreement

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